4.30.2008

This afternoon I took my sick-as-a-friggin-dog self to the doctor. Turns out I have a massive sinus infection that required a shot of antibiotics, a steroid shot and a prescription for more antibiotics. Also, I may have a staph infection from my surgery. I'll get the results on that in 2 days. BUT! This is not what my I came here to write about.

I was sitting in the communal waiting room, waiting ever so patiently to be called and I witnessed the sweetest moment between a mother and son. Maybe it wasn't your average, typical, collective sigh moment, but it was a moment.

The mother and approximately 12-year-old son came in the waiting room and sat down across from me. The mother opened a large fabric bag that had a knitting project she had obviously been working on for a while. As she prepared to knit, her son looked at her and she stopped what she was doing for just a moment and looked at him. He gently reached over and placed his finger under eye and wiped something away for her. She sat perfectly still, trusting that her young son would be careful to protect one of her most vulnerable body parts. He was so sweet and loving and gentle that it almost made me want to photograph them and tell to never ever forget that moment.

It was such a sweet an touching moment for me to witness. I wondered if the boy's mother would remember what her son did or maybe she was so used to him being so attentive. I then wondered if Derick has done something just as loving toward me that I have now forgotten. Surely I would remember such a blip in time. Chances are I've forgotten many a moment. I will always remember this moment between a mother and son, especially the last thing he said to her before I was called into the examination room.

4.28.2008

Let's first start with Jackson. He's got a virus that makes him cough and snot run down his face. It's not pleasant to use an infant snot sucker on a little one. I know he wants to throw sharp objects at me until I stop. In fact, he's starting hitting me. Retaliation maybe?

And lastly, I saved the best for last. Derick spent the weekend with his Dad. He came home with a rash on both arms that the doctor has determined is probably from poison ivy or something similar. And he threw up IN HIS BED last night. He's old enough to know when he needs to high tail it to the bathroom, but he was so tired from the event filled weekend that he just couldn't wake up. Turns out he got sick because he had nine NINE! Jack In The Box tacos for lunch yesterday. Just thinking about eating that many greasy tacos makes me ill, it's no wonder his poor tummy revolted. I need to remember to talk to his Dad about proper nutrition and why Jack In The Box tacos do not qualify. Unless you have them after an evening of too much beer and dancing. That's when those tacos are ok.

I used to stop on my way home from a evening out and get 2 for $.99 tacos and let me tell you, I've always said they were the best nasty food on the planet. The whole shabang is fried, lettuce and all, it has to be. How else can you explain rubbery lettuce? It's pure heaven. But I always stopped at 2 and now I know why.

4.26.2008

First, bonus points in my uber cool book if you know what song my title is from. Because I'm way cool and therefore you must be cool to read this blog.

(Mental note: Do not be retarded, Kristie. It's not cool.)

ANYHOOOOO. It's Saturday evening and I'm at home. Per my usual. And I have a question for the Internet.

Last night I was at a friend's house and she and her husband have the most beautiful wood flooring throughout the entire house. And I'm jealous. I have been considering ripping all the carpet up and getting new flooring and now I'm definitely sold on the idea. Especially when a stemless wine glass got broke last night at her house and it was so easy to clean compared to if it had dropped and broken on carpet.

I have spent all day thinking about the options and the cost and the effort for different types of flooring. Here's where you come in. I tell you what I'm considering and you, so kindly, tell me what you think, what you have experience with, what you hate and any other ideas or suggestions.

Here are my three options I've chosen:

Laminate wood flooring. I figure it's cheaper than real wood, better for the environment (although I need to check into that) and I think it's more durable.

Bamboo. I looks so so pretty. But I hear it's more expensive and it's not as durable, especially with animals that have claws and like the chase each other.

And lastly. Concrete. I'm considering ripping up all the carpet and having someone come in to stain and seal the concrete floor. It would seem to me that it's durable, easy to clean, easy to repair if need be and maybe cheaper than the other options. The only downfall I can think of is that I'd have to move all the baseboards down to meet the concrete floor.

So, I wanna know what you think. Humor a girl on a lonely Saturday night. Or Sunday. Or Monday. Take your pick.

4.25.2008

I thought today would be a good day for an update on my financial diet. Remember this post?

I've updated everything in red.

I was going to attempt the no spending money on frivolous things for a set amount of days. Then I introduced myself to myself and knew that was not possible. My willpower is to weak and Etsy.com sends me telepathic messages hourly. So I am limiting myself to $100 a month in frivolous purchases*. So far I've done well with the spending on frivolous crap. I still frequent Etsy on a regular basis but I've cut spending else ware. I went to Old Navy last weekend and walked up to the register with 2 shirts, one adorable ring and 2 pair of flip flops. By the time I made it to the register I had only the flip flops left. I realized I didn't need 2 more tank tops and jewelry is the last thing I need. Especially when I can get a way cuter one on Etsy. And, yes, I did lay the stuff down I didn't purchase on the racks by the register. Sue me.

I will increase my retirement contributions 10% starting next month. I want to retire a millionaire and have hot hunky men feed me grapes and massage my crusty old feet all while admiring my immense wealth. I actually have not done this. But I swear there's a reason! My employer's have been discussing opening a 401 (k) for me to participate in and matching some of the contributions. I'm waiting to hear if this change will take place before I make another move. I'm still contributing to my IRA each month and I did send in a larger amount by April 15th for my 2007 contributions.

I will pay off my higher interest rate credit cards by June 2008. DONE!

The credit card that's a low interest rate but a higher balance, I will keep paying the monthly payment but increase the payment by 50%. Just call me slacker. I did attempt to call the company and request that my monthly draft be set higher but I was on hold for 20 minutes and got nowhere. I should have called back, but I got lazy.

I will continue to pay extra towards my principle for my house. But I'll do it on a regular basis, even it's only $5 extra. DONE! I've also paid my house payment through the month of May so my next payment is due July 1st. I will continue to pay early so if I get into a bind I'll have a few months cushion.

I will start the search for a higher interest savings account. Currently my savings account pays 3.65% which isn't too bad, but I bet I can find better. Anyone have suggestions? I did some research and it seems that the savings account I have set up now is the best I can find. I did find some savings accounts with higher interest rates, but they were all variable which means that I'd get a good rate for a month or two and then it would be less than 2%. For now I'll keep the money where I have it.

By April 30 of this year I want to have saved $6,200 in my savings account to be used for emergencies and to sustain my household during the lean months of October through December 2008. I'm absolutely STOKED to report that I achieved this goal. And then some. I'm not gloating, I swear. I have such a hard time saving and leaving it there. This time is different. I fully intent on keeping this money put until I absolutely need it.

Finally, and this one's gonna hurt, I will stop buying coffee in the morning on my way to work. I only spend $6.75 a week on my morning coffee, but that's almost $30 and I can apply that to my principle payments for my house. Eh, I sort of achieved this goal. I stopped for a few weeks. Now I get coffee maybe twice a week. I could be going to Starbucks and spending over $3 so I feel like I'm saving at least a few dollar.

Overall, I'm quite proud of myself. A few other bills have crept up on me like Jackson's hospital bill from when he was born and my Homeowners Association dues that are way past due. But I'm slowly chipping away at my deficit and for the first time in a long time I think I owe less than I have saved.

4.23.2008

I watch A LOT of Food Network. It's almost shameful how much I watch. I religiously record several cooking shows and sometimes even make a dish or two. One such show I've been watching lately, that I just recently discovered, is Iron Chef. I always giggle when the 'chairman' starts the battle and does a karate chop while saying "Ala Cuisine"*.

I get especially excited when Bobby Flay is the Iron Chef that's being challenged. He's a red headed Irish guy and if you know me at all, I have a thing for the red heads. Always have. But what really got me was his show Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I can't seem to find a picture to show as an example, but in the beginning of each show and after each commercial he's pictured, in silhouette only, with his head tilted up slightly standing is such a way that says "I know I'm the shit" and lordy all mighty I get all giddy like a teenager. He's totally the shit and I have a full on crush.

Besides the reddish colored hair I think I might have my crush because he cooks. And THAT is worth more than money can buy.

I seriously need a red headed cook to come into my house and make me a killer meal. That would be the life.

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*I have no earthly idea if the chairman on Iron Chef actually says 'Ala Cuisine', I attempted to look it up with no such luck. But it doesn't matter because he does a karate chop and all things are funny in conjunction with a karate chop.

4.21.2008

Hello Internet. It's been so long since I took more then 7 seconds to write anything worthy of reading. Not that this rambling mess will be very worthy. But anyways.

A few life changes have occurred in the last month or so that I thought I'd update the 4 of you who read this. Which really means you already know this, but I'm gonna take liberties here and write about them anyway.

First and foremost, Jackson is walking. Holy crap. His nickname is Bobee and my brother, Thomas, calls him FrankenBobee because he walks much like Frankenstein. While on crack. And with an equilibrium issue. And it's so cute. Thank goodness for padded diaper butts otherwise he might have massive ass injuries from all the falling down. He attempts to run on occasion but his poor legs just can't keep up with his upper half and he inevitably falls on his face. My how they grow.

Second, tax season is over. Can you hear the angel's singing? They are all doing happy dances. It's a lovely lovely thing. I'm back to working part time which is totally awesome. I credit the parental units (aka my bosses) for allowing me to make decent money and work part time. Expect to see me around these parts more often.

The third item on this list is Weight Watchers. I've lost a total of 30 pounds. I have about 10 to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight and about 15 to get to my ideal weight. I've been slacking some in the last few weeks, but I've maintained my weight loss for the most part. It's nice to see that people notice that I'm not quite the fatty I was. And my skinny jeans almost button. Not quite, but the snickering when I try them on is lessening. Take that skinny jeans.

And lastly, well, this one sucks. Kristie is single. Again. For the 7ooth time in her lifetime. But this time she has 2 children instead of 1. To respect Eric I won't go into many details. We are amicable and he still sees Jackson and takes care of him when I need him to, for the most part. I'm not exceptionally sad because I saw it coming. I am disappointed. I'm disappointed that having a family isn't more important than beer, friends and other juvenile activities. I intend to be the best parent I can be and make the most of it. It sucks, but it's the story of my life and I'm so getting used to the script by now.

Just so I don't end this on a sour note...here's a new tattoo I got 2 weeks ago. It's healing still so it doesn't look the greatest. But I just love love love it. And it can easily be covered with a watch if I need to cover it up. Behold:

There ya have it. It's nice to be back. I'll be visiting your blogs very soon. I know you've missed me. ;-)